Maximum Ride: Trust, Love, and Family
by Katyi
Summary: What happens when Fang returns, and Iggy and Gazzy, after being gone for 3 years? Fax! Suckish summary, so sorry. R&R! ON HIATUS
1. My Life Since Then

Maximum Ride: Trust, Love, and Family

Hey guys! I know my other two stories haven't been that great, but I guarantee that you will like this one more. I really would like reviews, too. And even if it's boring at some parts, just keep reading. I'll update this story again tomorrow, depending on how many reviews! So review, review, and review some more. Thnx! 

XO- Katyi

Chapter 1: My Life Since Then [Max's POV]

It has been three years; three years of hardship, work, and struggle. But now it is finally over, and Itex is gone forever. It has been over, actually, for a year and a half, but now, there is still one problem: Iggy, Gazzy, and _Fang_ aren't here to share the glory—or be part of the family for that matter. They are somewhere else, a place I am not even aware of, but I do not care, because they left me…and they tore my flock apart. And I blame Fang, who I now refer to as _him _or _he_—that is, in the event that I have to talk about him to comfort the younger ones, a.k.a.- Nudge [14], Angel [almost 9], and my…daughter, Rosanna, or better known as Rosie [2].

Just to get something straight—Rosie is not biologically my child. Angel found her one day, a few weeks after we destroyed the last Itex branch in Japan. She has wings, but we don't know who her parents are; it's not as if we can get a DNA test done…life just isn't that simple, no matter how normal it is now. And so I decided to adopt her, taking the role as her real mother, not the mother/sister/best friend I was to Nudge and Angel.

Rosie looks a bit like Nudge, and perhaps a little like me, which is why I love her all the more. She has my brown eyes, or close enough, and her hair is a dark chestnut shade, with lighter brown highlights, like Nudge, and it falls in soft ringlets to her chest. It makes her look, from behind, Mexican or, maybe, Spanish. But her skin tone…it isn't like mine or like Nudge's, and it certainly implies that she is not Mexican or Spanish. No, her skin tone is pale, like a sheet of fresh ice. It makes her look almost lifeless, because only the dead are that pallid. If it weren't for the flame red color in her cheeks, I'd be worried. But she is healthy as a horse, and happier than any child I have ever seen. She calls me 'mommy', which I love too. But there is something about her features—something so familiar, yet so distant…it is a…mystery, so to speak. But eventually I'll just be able to look at her and not flinch with surprise at the reminders that are written in her face and body language. And in her personality, too, which is bright and happy most of the time, but stubborn and silent at other moments. It's so strange…I just can't get over it. But she is my daughter, and I will love her, with my whole heart, forever.

So, back to the rest of my story…

After taking down the Itex and adopting Rosie, we headed for my mom's, where she helped us get jobs—or, jobs for me and Nudge, rather, for we are the only ones old enough to actually_ have_ jobs—and she also threw in a bunch of money so that we could buy a cheap old house a few blocks away from her. Then Nudge, Angel, my mom, Ella, and I fixed the place up with the money my mom had been saving up to put us in school [I thoroughly objected to that, with Angel following my lead. Nudge decided that she wanted to, so we let her, because, I wouldn't want to ruin her life even more now that everything is wonderful and almost…normal. But public school was her choice, because she wanted us to have more money for remodeling the house. What a great kid.]

And now, a year later, we are living in a two level house, with a forest for a backyard, and a pond in the middle of it, and Nudge is now in 8th grade, which means graduation. I might even cry. And yes, you heard correct; the great Maximum Ride will cry. Hey, that is only because I'm so proud…or maybe it's because I'm so happy…I'm not sure. But whatever the reason, I'll be there, sobbing my eyes out, yet as strong and cool as before.

I guess you could say life is great, and it is. But, at some points, it feels like there is a giant hole in my chest, growing bigger and bigger. And then, it feels like I'm hollow. I only feel like this when my thoughts are with _him_ and the other two. It hurts like hell, and feels worse than being torn apart. My mom knows what they did to me, and although she doesn't want to blame it on _him_ entirely, she does go along with my mood and judgment, for she is almost as angry with them as I am.

The only thing that can patch me up, though, is my friends. I have made four excellent friends—two girls, and two boys: Jake [17], Natalie [17], Grace [16], and Mike [16]. They are like replacements to the three that left me, and between Jake and I, sometimes I feel something…more than friendship. And I'm okay with that. Because he is my safe harbor and I trust him more than I do anyone else, for he picked me back up when I was down, and he does love me—he told me once. He makes me happy, so I'm taking our "more than friends thing" one step at a time. And I am really hoping it will grow into something more. And a plus about him—he is who Rosie calls "daddy", even though I correct her, telling her to call him Jake. That just makes it easier and better, though. The only thing I'm not sure with his is the fact that I don't know if I love him as much as he loves me. But for now, that's okay, and he seems to accept it. But maybe one day we will be together, because I do love him, even though I would never tell him. But I think he knows…and right now, that's good enough for me.

The group is all human, but they know of our secret, which they think is amazing. It's wonderful to know that I'm accepted and loved by someone other than my family. They all attend school, and even though they are older than Nudge and Angel, they still act like best friends to them. And when they aren't at school or their jobs, they hang out with us…it is sooo perfectly wonderful.

So life is great. Bottom line. I'm happy, and so is the rest of my new Flock. The only thing I fear, and I feel like this will happen soon, is that _they_ will return. And if that were to happen…well, I wouldn't know what to do…I feel them coming though…and I know they are…

I'll be ready.

So??? What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Review and tell me! And give me ideas for the next chapter, too. I was thinking of having Fang and the gang returning, then big decisions, and maybe a little…hmm…maybe some…FAX!!! And then there was going to be the twist with Jake, Max's new friend. And maybe a little denial and fury from Max unleashed upon Fang… You tell me what you want, okay? Good. Hope you liked it, and….REVIEW! ;]

XO-Katyi


	2. Why Are You Here?

Hey guys! What's up? I saw that I have gotten 4 reviews, but that's okay, because here is the next chapter! I hope you like it! And, yes, I saw how many people read it! Over fifty people! So, to those fifty people, I would appreciate it if you would review, but only if you like it. If not, then you can go on about your business. Here it is! Chapter 2!

XO- Katyi

Chapter 2: Why Are You Here? [Max's POV]

I awoke to the loud buzz of my alarm, and my first reaction was flipping over and hitting the _off _button on the side of the clock. I slowly opened my eyes, peeking fuzzily at the time that was blinking on the black screen. I rolled my eyes, opening my lids further and glaring at the big red letters that flashed in my face.

It was _6:15 am_! I never got up at this time, and I was pissed at whoever had set my alarm for this early. And there were only three people in this house besides myself, and I doubt it was the adorably irresistible and innocent two-year-old.

"Nudge! Angel! Get your butts in here." My voice sounded groggy from sleeping, yet exhausted from _not_ sleeping enough. I felt my face twist into my 'what the hell?' look, and at that moment, my door flew open, and in stepped my family.

Angel, Nudge, and Rosie.

Angel, with her golden curls falling to almost her waist, was wearing a mini skirt of the baby pink color, and a white tank top, which had spaghetti straps. She knew how I disliked her showy clothing, yet did she listen to me when I objected to it? No, she did not. And she was nine! Already she had all the boys in town—that weren't attracted to Nudge, that is—falling all over her. I once caught one of them tapping her on her_ you know what_. And then what did she do, you might ask? Well, she made me want to go over and murder her when she _tapped his_. I sometimes wonder, though, if I'm being too overprotective. Nah, not me. [And in case you are wondering what they tapped on each other, well, let's just say that I was surprised they weren't slipping their hands down each other's pants. 'Nough said.]

Nudge, though, had been very good since the beginning of our new life. She mostly hung out with the boys from her class that were drooling over her, and if not them, then she hung out with us—her family—and our friends, Jake, Mike, Grace, and Natalie, even though they are older than her. I believe that Mike—one of the nicest, and shyest, guys in Arizona—likes her, and, after all, he is only sixteen, not even two full years older than her, so it's okay. With her dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders in layers of soft shininess—I know, aren't I poetic?—and her dark caramel skin, plus those big chocolate-colored eyes, well, let's just say that even _I_ wished I was her. And that's saying something. Not that I would want Mike to like me or anything—and I am 17, and he's 16, so it wouldn't work out anyway. Sorry Mike—but just to be gorgeous for a day seems nice.

Today, though, for some weird reason, she wore even showier clothing than Angel, which she never did, even though her clothing is pretty showy on its own. She was beautiful, though, and happy, and to me, her happiness was all that mattered.

And, yes, I know I'm great. 

Rosie was in Angel's arms, her perfect face grinning at me, her beautiful baby teeth blinding me with their brightness. Her pure white skin shone in the light that came from my lamp—which had somehow been turned on without me noticing it—and her chestnut hair fell past her shoulders in small, untouched ringlets, the big brown eyes that resembled my own staring at my face. She winked at me, and I felt my mask drop although I was still wary about a few things.

_I wonder what is so special about today?_ I thought with just a bit of curiosity, seeing as that I was kind of talking to Angel. And, you should know this, too: she can read minds. It helps when you really get into my life story.

"Alright," I started, taking on a menacing tone. "Which one of you asses set my alarm for _6:15 in the morning_?"

I had never been into cursing, but Rosie had already picked most of the words up from other people, so when in doubt at 6:15 in the morning, what do you do? Curse. [I don't curse often, just for your f.y.i.] And, also, Nudge and Angel used those words quite often, so…

All three of them had their guilt written plainly across their faces, but I smiled at them, and asked before they could answer, "Really guys? You put poor Rosie up to this? Tsk tsk." They both grinned and laughed with me, and Rosie began giggling, too.

When our laughter died down, I studied them for a moment. They seemed completely fine, just like they were on any other day, but something was off. And that's when I noticed it.

Their eyes. There was something in their eyes that was different today, and I could see they were trying to hide it. It seemed strange, because they never hid their feelings from me; it bothered me that they were doing this, so I asked them, "What is so special about today that you guys had to wake me up at this crappy hour? And be honest, because lying to me won't help you."

My voice became softer at the end, yet still held power in it. I tried to add a hint of a joking manner to my voice, too, but I was also serious about this whole thing, plus, I was determined to find out what was going on, because, just at that moment, pain and true guilt danced across their expressions. It was Rosie, of the three, that broke the silence with the awful truth.

"Today they weft us, mommy," she reminded me, and my eyes instantly stung with tears. Oh. My. God. How could I have forgotten this? I turned my back to the trio so that they wouldn't see me cry, self-anger racing through my mind, and I wanted to do only one thing: run and cry. But I couldn't do that, because my family was here, and my friends. So, basically, I was trapped.

At last, I was able to rid my eyes of tears. I straightened myself out, and then whirled around to face them.

"Why?" My question hung in the air, pain and fury dripping off it, and when I saw their apologetic expressions, I froze, then whispered, "I'm sorry, you guys. This just…it hurts too much. I'm so sorry." My voice broke at the end, and I slid my watery gaze to the floor before restating my question.

"I don't understand," I told them. "Why are you happy about today? I just don't get it. Why?! Why do you want to remember the reason for our hurt?! Why?!" I realized I was shouting, and the tears streaked down my face, but I let them. I didn't care. Because I was beyond listening. And I did what I thought was best for both myself and them.

I ran. I ran out my bedroom door, down the hallway, Angel and Nudge chasing me the whole way and calling out my name. But I didn't care. Right now, I just needed to be alone. I threw the front door open in one second flat before attempting to dash out, but something blocked my path. I crashed into a warm, dark figure, my eyes seeing only black.

And I yanked myself back, trying to push past the person, but failing. And when I looked up at the face that had left me so long ago I froze.

"What are you doing here…Fang?"

Love it, hate it? Don't care! Just review and give me ideas!

XO-Katyi


	3. Leave Me Alone

Hi everyone. What's up? I am kind of upset at the fact that I didn't get anymore reviews, so I guess my story sucks. Well, whatever. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, and you don't need to review.

XO-Katyi

Chapter 3: Leave Me Alone

"What are you doing here…Fang?"

I looked into the onyx eyes of the guy who had taken half of my heart—and half of my Flock—away from me. Apology and guilt was written across his face, and I pushed past him before he could even start. But he grabbed my arm as I attempted to run away, and pulled me to his chest. I froze completely, and then anger and betrayal washed over me, and I remembered everything. I didn't have the time to stop the tears that flowed down my face; Fang only hugged me closer.

"Max," he breathed, relief and something like sorrow strong in his voice. The way his voice caressed my name sent my heart racing, but that didn't matter right now, and I pushed my sudden feelings for him aside. And then I did what I thought was best in the situation.

I kneed him in the groin, and then took off running. I heard a sharp noise of surprise and hurt come from him, but I pushed it and everything else about him out of my mind. Or, I tried to.

His voice and everyone else's called after me, but I was beyond hearing. It was worse than it had been in the house; I was like a bull in a china shop. And if he even dared to try and stop me, I'd…well, I would kill him. Because I didn't care about him and him leaving was proof enough that he didn't care about me. So I was not stopping—for anything. But then I heard it: my daughter's soft cry.

"Mommy, don't weave," Rosie called out to me, and I was in the air by now, but I heard her.

I turned around, tears falling freely from my eyes, and faced Rosie, looking her dead in the eye. She stared at me, her own eyes leaking. Fang was whipping his head back and forth between me and Rosie, and this time, he didn't keep his emotions in; his expression showed hurt, and I could see even from here that he was shaking. His own eyes sparkled with fresh tears, and I gasped; Fang never cried. _Ever_. I, out of nowhere, felt a pang of guilt, because I knew for a fact that me having a daughter was the reason behind hid tears. I was sure of it. But right now, explaining to my daughter was what I needed to do.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but if I stay here…I just can't, okay? Can you understand that? If he"—I pointed an accusing finger at Fang—"stays here, I won't come back."

"But Max, Fang just—" Nudge tried, but I cut her off.

"No, Nudge, you don't understand. You never will, any of you. Fang," I said, speaking to him directly for the first time since he'd been here. "You hurt me, and I think you hurt the girls too. But if you stay here, you are going to be tearing the family that has been built here apart. Can't you see that we are happy here? We have a great new life, and my only question is why did you come back? I didn't want you back, and I don't think the girls did either. And, to add on to my questions, why now? You had three years, Fang. Three freaking years!" I was shrieking my head off, but luckily it was July 4th weekend, and everyone had gone on vacation, so there were no witnesses to the bird girl screaming at her ex-best friend from in the sky.

"You had so many opportunities to come back Fang," I continued yelling at him, "but did you take any of them? No, you didn't! So why now, Fang? Huh? _Why now?!_" When I finished I began sobbing, but I turned my back and flew out towards the desert, daring Fang to follow me. If he did, I would rip his head right off his body.

And of course, he did.

"Max! Max, please! I just want to explain! I promise I'll leave if you let me explain. Please, Max!" His persistent and endless calls to get my attention were ones that pushed straight into my mind, and my eyes once again welled up.

Eventually, I slowed down, reaching the large boulder that I rested on when I needed to think. Of course, whenever I usually came here I was either alone, or with Jake. But Fang? I swear if he comes within a mile of me I'll shoot him. And yes, I know, I am a very violent-minded person.

When he reached me, I cringed away from his dark figure. The sun was just rising, and I could see from here that it was going to be a beautiful day. Which was just ruined—by Fang. Speaking of which…

Fang just stood there, his eyes still filled with tears, and probably every emotion he had bottled up inside him written across his face, waiting for me to read.

"What do you want Fang?" My tone was clipped, my voice hard and full of menace. I gave him my death glare, which he flinched away from, before looking straight into my eyes, as if he could see my soul. I only scowled at him, turning so that my back was facing him. I didn't want him to be here, but he just wouldn't leave me alone. And, just so you know, I didn't believe any of that crap he was dishing out about leaving me after he had explained. I knew Fang all too well, and he had been lying. How stupid did he think I was?

"Max, I just want to tell you something—explain for everything," he pleaded, wincing as I started to shake my head, but then I stopped. Maybe getting his side of the story wouldn't be so bad. Or it could just be all lies that he had made up just for the occasion. Only one way to find out…

"Fine," I muttered. "This had better be good, Fang," I added in a deadly tone.

"Okay," he started. "To begin with, after we left you, we did try to find you. After two days of being away from you guys, we wanted to come back, we really did. But there were…complications. We ran into some old-school erasers, but there were so many that once we escaped, we just couldn't take the risk of going to find you guys. I thought that, eventually, we would meet up, and I tried connecting to you and Nudge and Angel through my laptop, but you were never at the computer when I tried. So, after a few months, we went back out. We saw you guys saving the world—through t.v., newspapers, everything. I stared at the pictures of the three of you, and it hurt a lot, Max, it really did. I know it was rough on you as well, but we kind of did help you."

When he paused to breathe for a sec, I snapped at him, "When? You guys weren't there when Angel, Nudge, and I saved the world, so what kind of shit are you trying to throw at me?"

His answer was quick and a reminder.

"Remember when you guys were in Japan, defeating the last of the Itex?" I nodded in response, my throat suddenly very sore from talking and yelling.

"Well, do you remember a man telling you about how the mbots were after you, and how you wouldn't be able to survive such a forceful attack?" Again, I nodded.

"We stopped that attack, Max. Me, Gazzy, and Iggy. We distracted them, and we were there. But when we had finished them, you had already gone. After that, we gave up. Or, I did, anyway." He hung his head in shame. "And I'm so sorry Max. For everything. And you need to know…the whole time I was away from you; _you _were in every thought in my head, because…I love you, Maximum Ride. And I _am_ sorry." He refused to meet my gaze, which was appalled by his nerve, and shocked by his confession.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, before Fang broke the silence.

"I still love you Max," he told me, lifting his gaze to meet mine. "Do you…do you love me?" He was so quiet, almost…shy, that I didn't even know if I had heard him. But I had, and I had to end this now, once and for all.

"I don't, Fang," I said to him as honestly as I could manage without giving anything away. "I don't love you, and I still hate you. I will never forgive you, so just leave me alone. Goodbye Fang." The last part was really true, but the first part was not. And I gathered myself off the rock, and began to walk in the other direction, and then I heard him get up.

The fact was, I still loved Fang. I always had, and always would, but he had hurt me too much…and I couldn't handle that. So I would rather let him go than have him stick around, always keeping me in a sense of fear of him leaving me or hurting me. But then he did it.

Fang grabbed my waist firmly and with force, and then, before I could object, his mouth was on mine, and my brain shorted out…

And I was completely and utterly unsure of what to do.

Hi everyone. I will update again tomorrow. Review if you like it, and give me ideas for the next chapter. I hope you like this chapter more than the last one, and I extended it about a page or two more, so I hope you do like it. Please review!

XO-Katyi


	4. I Love You, But I Can't Trust You

Hey guys! How's it going?! I saw how many people read my story yesterday, and there was over 125 people! But no one reviewed! I know I said that you didn't have to, but I only have 4 reviews! Please review, and here is chapter 4! Chapter 5 will be on tomorrow, if I get a lot of reviews, and if I get ideas! And thnx to everyone who did review!

XO- Katyi 

Chapter 4: I Love You, but I Can't Trust You

The feel of Fang's warm, soft lips pressed against mine was a feeling of simultaneous elation and horrification that I had never felt before, and it was incredible. Yet I was still terrified, and confused, but right now, it was just me and Fang. My eyes were closed, my arms holding him closer from around his neck, my lips moving in sync with his…

And then the awful truth hit me: I was kissing Fang back! As soon as this thought entered my mind I yanked my arms away from him, pulling back and then stepping back.

Oh. No.

Fang was gazing at me in wonder, his dark eyes sparkling with happiness, pleasure, and a hint of confusion. I tried to look away, but Fang's strong and large tan hand cupped my chin before he brought his face to my level [he had grown a few inches over the past few years, while I had stayed the same height]. Then, with sudden need and desire glinting in his eyes, he brought his lips to mine, whispering my name before our lips connected for the second time this morning.

My first reaction was the same as last time's: to keep going, to never stop, to cherish this moment forever…thankfully, my senses and injured ego won over this time, and I pulled away from him, again.

"Fang," I gasped. "I just…I can't, Fang. I can't have you in my life, and I certainly can't be with you. And I'm…sorry, about that. No matter how much I don't trust you and no matter how much I hate you, I never want to see you hurting, especially under my hand. I'm sorry," I repeated.

I couldn't believe that I had said so much in just one breath. Fang looked at me with the same expression as before, and I was afraid of what would happen next.

To my utter surprise, though, Fang enveloped me into a hug, murmuring my name, whether it was to himself, or me, I'll never know. And before I could object to the contact, he released me, stepping back to study me with the same impassive mask that I had known so many years ago. In his eyes, though, there was still that bit of doubt that had been there all this time. And his speech began.

"Max, you can distrust me all you want, I could care less right now, but don't try to deny the fact that you do love me. In those two kisses, well…I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you kissed me back. And that," he concluded, "is all the more proof that you _do _love me."

He finished smugly and confidently, the insecurity never leaving those gorgeous eyes. And as I gazed into those eyes, I reflected on everything that had happened this past half hour. The good and the bad. Fang had been so open, letting all those emotions that he had kept inside him free, and I knew exactly why he did that; because he loved me, and because he trusted me, and he wanted to prove that to me. Fang had just made my self-esteem go up to a ten instead of the low two it had been at in my book, and I felt so special, so cared for, when Fang was the one talking to me.

So I decided to tell him the truth, and I hoped that the truth wouldn't set him over the edge or give him the wrong idea, because if it were the other way around, this truth would have only made me more excited and confident.

"Fang," I began, forming the words I was going to speak, very slowly, to him, choosing those words very carefully.

"Fang," I repeated, my voice so low it was almost inaudible. "You hurt me, more than you will ever realize or know, but even though I don't trust you…I—I still do love you." The last part was a soft murmur, and I slid my gaze to the dirt of the ground, my mind refusing to meet Fang's gaze, yet my heart aching to; I went with my head, it seemed smarter. But it didn't take that much smarts to figure out about the full-blown grin that played on Fang's lips. I resisted the urge to slap myself. He had gotten the wrong idea! I was so stupid, telling him that.

And there was no way to take it back. There was only a way to fix it. It involved hurting him, but if that's what it took to get him away from me and my was-perfect life, then I'd do it.

"But Fang," I continued guiltily. "I love someone else more. And I'm kind of together with him." Okay, so me and Jake weren't together. So what? He had told me he loved me, plus he had kissed me. And I obviously didn't feel the same about him that I did with Fang, but as I got more into the lie, I couldn't stop, because I knew it was working. So, the whole pretend-to-be-with-Jake-thing wasn't such a bad thing…or was it? Fang looked so hurt and angry that I had to stop myself from blurting out the truth.

When Fang began to shake with fury that mirrored what had been my own a few moments ago, I decided it was time to go. And when he began muttering to himself about him and me and murdering someone, I knew it was time to leave him.

As I attempted to walk past him, though, he grasped my arm, which vibrated viciously from his shivering form.

"Just answer one question," he pleaded helplessly, yet with the disaster-waiting-to-happen tone still there.

"What?" I asked gently, his eyes boring into mine.

"Tell me," he started to ask. "Is he—is he the father?"

I knew what he was talking about the second the words left his mouth, so I shook my head quickly before explaining the story to him.

"Rosie isn't my biological daughter, Fang,"—it still hurt to say his name, though I had never thought about it before—"and I have never done _it_ with a guy, so it's not possible." This bit of information seemed to calm him, but just a little. He was still shaking, and I remembered that I had to leave, without letting him back into my life.

I was running away from Fang in an instant, and this time, he let me go. I didn't look back, when I was running or when I was taking off, or even when I was in the air, because I knew that if I had looked back, I would have crumpled. I would've gone back there and taken him in my arms and I would have told him the truth—all of it. And I would have taken him back into my life, as a friend, boyfriend, and perhaps something more. And that would have been a huge mistake.

But I didn't need to look back to feel Fang's eyes watching my retreating form, and I didn't need to look back to hear the noise that hurt me more than anything; a noise that stabbed through my heart like a knife:

Fang's broken and torn sobs.

And as I flew away at top speed, my cries began to match his…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night I lay in my bed, thinking of one thing: Fang.

He was dark, mysterious, dangerous, and terrifying—even to me. And stubborn, he was definitely stubborn. But today I had seen another side of Fang, one that I knew existed somewhere—one that I had been to afraid to look for before he left with Gazzy and Iggy. I was scared _for _this side of Fang. I had never seen him so vunerable, so hopeless. I… it only made me love him even more.

And that was because Fang had finally shown himself—all of himself—to me; all the feelings that had been bottled up inside him for who knows how long had finally been put out there, and I believed that it was a bad thing. Because Fang had always been better locked up inside himself, secluded from all the emotions everyone else felt. And I could only wonder what it was like for him to just let go—to feel.

The only thing I loved about this morning was the fact that Fang had done all of that for me. Not for Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Total, or anyone else. He had done it for me, because he loved me, and he wanted to show me that.

But love, in my book, isn't the same thing as trust. And to be together with Fang, I would have to trust that he would never hurt me, or leave me, and I just couldn't do that. But I wanted to; with my whole heart I wanted to keep Fang beside me forever—no matter what. And just because I love him—just so you know—doesn't mean that I will automatically trust him again.

To narrow it down for ya, I am a complete mess who is in love with her ex-best friend, and who has that same ex-best friend thinking that she loves someone else. And that same girl wants that certain ex-best friend out of her life.

Nothing can be simple anymore.

The next day, at around noon, Fang came by our house. Jake, Mike, Natalie, and Grace had stopped by to hang for the day, considering that it is Sunday, and I was totally not expecting Fang after yesterday. I had thought that he would have left for good, but the boy just wouldn't stop. He just couldn't understand how much I needed him out of my life, could he?

When I heard Angel mutter, "Fang. Oh, God dammit," under her breath—I didn't even bother correcting her for cursing—I immediately jumped up and went over to Jake, who was sitting on the couch, watching some stupid reality show Grace had put on that both her and Natalie loved.

"I need you to do something for me," I told him. He met my gaze, and for a second or two, I got lost in his deep blue eyes, which were shaded over by his shaggy brown hair. He smiled at me and raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue.

I took his arm and yanked him up [thank you, super avian-human strength] and I dragged him into the kitchen.

_How much more time until _he_ arrives?_ I asked Angel desperately in my mind. I heard her say from the other room to apparently no one, for she didn't address them, "Wow, this show only has three minutes left?" She said it casually, but I knew that that was my answer.

_Thanks, sweetie._

"What's up?" Jake asked, and from the other room I heard a loud, over-dramatic cough. That meant he was getting closer—faster.

"I was wondering, Jake," I started, trying not to make it sound like I was in a hurry, even though I obviously was. "I was wondering," I repeated before continuing, "if you would like to…go out? You know, be my boyfriend." I whispered the last part as seductively as I could manage, hoping it would give him the extra push to say yes.

Another loud cough interrupted my awkward thinking of this situation, and I prayed silently in my head to God that Jake would hurry and make up his mind.

"Okay," Jake agreed before leaning down slowly, but with a hint of confusion—he probably had no idea why I was asking him out, because when he had kissed me last year and told me he loved me, I had strictly told him that I didn't date and that I wasn't interested—to kiss me softly, but with force, just as I heard, using my avian hearing, the patter of heavy footsteps walking up the front walkway. I ended the kiss—which felt almost as good as the one with Fang, by the way—as slowly as I could before saying with a small smile, "Let's go watch the end of that show. I want to see what happens to Julia." I winked at him at the end, and then pulled his shocked and happy person back to the living room.

And just as he sat down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap, a bonus to the charade, the doorbell rang. I could see Nudge looking at me out of the corner of my eye, and I nodded, not looking directly at her; I knew that she was aware of the plan. Though she seemed to not like it, she got up off the carpeted floor where she had been playing with Rosie, who had been silent since my leaving yesterday, and went to answer the door. When she was five feet away, not even, two more pairs of footsteps ran up to the still-closed front door. I was shocked, but then I saw Angel's face, which was now streaked with tears of joy, and I knew who it was.

Gazzy and Iggy had come to join the party, and when Nudge opened the door, those two charged in, rushing to hug Nudge and Angel, both of them crying, but that wasn't what I was focusing on.

Fang was frozen in the doorway, looking more angry than I had ever seen him—yesterday included—and the way he looked at me, it made me want to shrivel up and die right then and there. Because Fang was oblivious to the whole scene of the sweet reunions going on next to him; he only had eyes for me and Jake, who at the moment looked more confused than he had been, and a bit afraid. He hugged me closer to his chest as Fang took one step forward, the pain and fury of yesterday showing all over his face as he said one word.

"You."

And that's when he launched at us.

"No, Fang!" I screamed, and suddenly the air was filled with screams from my Flock, my friends, and my baby. But I heard none of them because in the next moment Fang hit me, though I know he meant to hit Jake.

I heard "Max!" called out from all the voices I loved, everyone except Fang's, but I heard a soft "Oh, God, Max, no! I'm sorry!" that I knew was from Fang. His tone was no longer lethal; he was hating himself right now, and I knew that because I knew Fang. And I still loved him. And I was glad he was back. Because I couldn't live without him.

That was the last thought I had before my world went black.

Wow, that was a lot of typing! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and remember! I want what? Reviews! Love you all. I will update tomorrow if I get a lot of reviews, and some ideas!

XO-Katyi


End file.
